It's my last day!


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Europe » Belgium » Brussels-Capital Region » Brussels
September 25th 2013
Published: September 28th 2013
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Well, the time has finally come for me to make the most out of my last day here in Brussels, Belgium.

I was going to try and get up earlier so I had that bit of extra time...did it happen? Ummm...nope!

I woke up about 09:30am!

I still had another day of use on my Brussels card, so wanted to make the most of that too.

I also really wanted to go to one of the local flea markets. This was located at the far south of Brussels, so ideal for me to use my Brussels card as it includes all travel on the metro, tram and bus system!

After studying various maps, along with Google maps to double check as we all trust Google, I made my way to the nearest station and it was pretty easy to know where to go! It's just like the London underground system. Similar maps to show the name of each stop.

So, I got my destination, but did have to walk for a few minutes to get to the square where the market was held.

There was plenty of stuff to look at! Don't get me wrong, it didn't have the wow factor I was expecting, but plenty enough there to sort through if you felt the need.

Most of it I found was either clothes, crockery, glasses and jewelery. I was actually looking for some branded Belgian beer glasses as I read that they were a lot cheaper here. The was plenty there, but not necessarily the type I was after. They were either too small, or just plain boring glasses.

I did find a porcelain tankard, which is what Belgians use too. The label on it said €1, I was prepared to pay that, so went to the guy selling the stuff then he asked for €2! "But it says €1 on the label!" He then said about transports costs and all that jazz...I was having none of it, so gave it back to him and walked away. I'll find another one I thought!

A few moments later, a tap on my shoulder and it was the guy selling the tankard. "€1" he said. I did not hesitate to pay him! Bargain! These tankards are about €8-9 in the shops!

After wandering around for a little longer, I came across a branded glass, kinda what I was after. This was €2. I managed to haggle him down to €1.50 😊

Right, after all this hard work it was time for a beer! Found a pub just around the perimeter of the market place and chose my brew. The Belgians have what is called a sour beer, also known bathe word 'guezue'. I had one of these. It was good! It had that slight sour taste, but not off putting.

As this was the further most point I was traveling, I decided to head back to where I was comfortable, which is around the Grand Place and where I was staying.

It was nearing lunchtime and another place I wanted to check out was the toy museum So I headed towards there in the hope I could find a local sandwich place and apparently they do good sandwiches too!

Well, luck would have it, there was one around the corner! I had a Club Poulet. was basically chicken, with egg, mayonnaise, and some salad in a wholemeal baguette...umm...nothing special really! I had a beer with this to wash it down with. It was tasty though!

Got to the toy museum and wow! Just wow! Toys were in abundance. They were everywhere, and I mean everywhere! On the walls, ceilings and in cabinets. There are 3 floors to this place too!

The amount of pedal cars on the walls, and the around the floor were amazing! They even had 2 seater ones and a bus!

Words can't really describe how awesome it was, so the pictures will tell a better story once I get them uploaded. Watch this space!

Ok. That was over, so I decided to head back nearer to home as I still needed to buy gifts!

Speaking to my room mates the previous evening, they suggested I try the Moule & Frites. That is Mussells and Chips to me and you! I'm not a great lover of sea food though, so I thought, I'm somewhere new, and it will be a new experience for me! I found a restaurant that did them for €15 which came with a free drink too...yep, you guessed it, another beer! Well, it wasn't the best meal I've had, and certainly not the worst! I did eat it all up, and it was filling. There was so much! To put it politely, I wouldn't have them again in a hurry!

Right...time to find another pub! It had been suggested I try out the Delirium Cafe, so this is what I did, and found!

3 different floors serving loads and loads of different beers! Top floor was the Hoppy Loft selling mostly the non-belgian stuff for those fussy ones, ground floor (Taphouse) was selling many draft beers. All the beer pumps were hanging down from above the bar rather than on the bar like you see in England. It looked good! Finally, the basement was the most lively place. This is where all the Belgian bottled beer is sold in their respective drinking vessels.

I absolutely loved the atmosphere in this place and would have stayed longer, but time was getting on and I really had to make a move and still had more gifts to buy for back home, so needed to get this in before I get too drunk and the shops close!



So, thank you Belgium for having me. It has been an awesome adventure for and given me a chance to relax.

I will definitely return one day!

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